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History of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens.

HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
181
who lived in an adjoining State, and the stat¬ utes provided that all marriages should be per¬ formed by magistrates who were residents of Vermont. A few years after the marriage, Barrett came west and located in the town of Liberty, Vernon county. Here he was married again, to Jeanette Wood, on the supposition that the former marriage was illegal. In 1871, his first wife, Olive, prosecuted him and he was indicted as stated. Upon the first two counts in the indictment Barrett was acquitted; but was convicted upon the last, and sentenced to six months in the countj jail. This was the man that was afterward shot and killed by Comfort Starr.
On the night of Oct. 3, 1871, James Butler burglarized the saloon of Peter Bartholomew, at De Soto, with intent to steal. The grand jury system had just been abolished, and in¬ formation was filed against the defendant by Carson Graham. He was arrested, and upon preliminary examination was bound over to the circuit court. He plead guilty and asked to be sentenced by the county court. This tribunal sentenced him to one year's hard labor in the penitentiary.
The case of State vs. Nathaniel and Martha Cummings was tried at the May term of circuit court, in 1873. This was for assault upon the father of Nathaniel Cummings. While there was nothing of especial interest in the facts con¬ stituting the cause of action, yet the case in¬ volved a proposition of law which made it more than an ordinary one. It seems that the father and children had had some trouble regarding land, and the difficulty finally terminated in their coming to blows. They met, got into an altercation, and the woman seized a stick, and, in the words of the evidence, "hammered the old man." Nathaniel and Martha were arrested and tried. Nathaniel was convicted and fined $50 and costs, while Martha was acquitted. This was upon the principle that the wife hav¬ ing struck the blows in the presence of her hus¬ band, she was acting under his authority and
coercion, and he was therefore responsible for her acts. The attorneys were Terhune & Gra¬ ham for defense, and C. M. Butt for prosecu¬ tion.
The fall term of circuit court in 1873 was disgraced by another murder trial. It was that of Comfort Starr, charged with the murder of Chester Barrett. These men lived in the town of Liberty. For a long time they had been at outs, and in constant quarrels regarding fences and easements belonging to real estate. On,the 9th of June, 1873, Starr attempted to drive across a certain piece of land in the town of Jefferson. Barrett came from his house with a gun in hand and forbade his crossing. After a few words and threats Starr seized the gun he had brought with him and shot Barrett, killing him. Starr was arrested and bound over to the circuit court. The case was tried at the fall term in 1873, and was ably conducted by C. M. Butts, district attorney for the State, and Car¬ son Graham and O. B. Thomas for the defense. Starr admitted the shooting, but plead self de¬ fense, and upon this ground was acquitted by the jury.
The spring term of court in 1875 was made memorable by the trial of the notorious case of State vs. J. P. Larry the defendant being charged with shooting John Downie. Larry and Downie were half brothers living near each other in the town of Liberty. On the 9th of November, 1874, while plowing in his field, Downie was shot by some unknown person and for a long time laid at the point of death. Isaiah Guist, a neighbor with whom Downie was not on very friendly terms, was arrested o)i suspicion of being the perpetrator of the foul and cowardly deed, but he clearly proved his innocence and was immediately discharged. As time went by the suspicion that Larry had done the shooting gained ground, and he was finally arrested. He plead not guilty and based his defense upon proving an alibi. The trial was a long and interesting one, and at one time a crowd from the neighborhood of the

History of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens.

Title of work

History of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens.

We believe that online reproduction of this material is permitted because its copyright protection has lapsed or because sharing it here for non-profit educational purposes complies with the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Teachers and students are generally free to reproduce pages for nonprofit classroom use. For advice about other uses, or if you believe that you possess copyright to some of this material, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org.

History of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Together with sketches of its towns and villages, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens.

Author

Union Publishing Company

Publication Date (Original)

1884

Format-Digital

jpeg

Publisher-Electronic

Wisconsin Historical Society

Rights

We believe that online reproduction of this material is permitted because its copyright protection has lapsed or because sharing it here for non-profit educational purposes complies with the Fair Use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Teachers and students are generally free to reproduce pages for nonprofit classroom use. For advice about other uses, or if you believe that you possess copyright to some of this material, please contact us at asklibrary@wisconsinhistory.org.

Publication Date-Electronic

2008

Identifier-Digital

Vern1884184

Full Text

HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY.
181
who lived in an adjoining State, and the stat¬ utes provided that all marriages should be per¬ formed by magistrates who were residents of Vermont. A few years after the marriage, Barrett came west and located in the town of Liberty, Vernon county. Here he was married again, to Jeanette Wood, on the supposition that the former marriage was illegal. In 1871, his first wife, Olive, prosecuted him and he was indicted as stated. Upon the first two counts in the indictment Barrett was acquitted; but was convicted upon the last, and sentenced to six months in the countj jail. This was the man that was afterward shot and killed by Comfort Starr.
On the night of Oct. 3, 1871, James Butler burglarized the saloon of Peter Bartholomew, at De Soto, with intent to steal. The grand jury system had just been abolished, and in¬ formation was filed against the defendant by Carson Graham. He was arrested, and upon preliminary examination was bound over to the circuit court. He plead guilty and asked to be sentenced by the county court. This tribunal sentenced him to one year's hard labor in the penitentiary.
The case of State vs. Nathaniel and Martha Cummings was tried at the May term of circuit court, in 1873. This was for assault upon the father of Nathaniel Cummings. While there was nothing of especial interest in the facts con¬ stituting the cause of action, yet the case in¬ volved a proposition of law which made it more than an ordinary one. It seems that the father and children had had some trouble regarding land, and the difficulty finally terminated in their coming to blows. They met, got into an altercation, and the woman seized a stick, and, in the words of the evidence, "hammered the old man." Nathaniel and Martha were arrested and tried. Nathaniel was convicted and fined $50 and costs, while Martha was acquitted. This was upon the principle that the wife hav¬ ing struck the blows in the presence of her hus¬ band, she was acting under his authority and
coercion, and he was therefore responsible for her acts. The attorneys were Terhune & Gra¬ ham for defense, and C. M. Butt for prosecu¬ tion.
The fall term of circuit court in 1873 was disgraced by another murder trial. It was that of Comfort Starr, charged with the murder of Chester Barrett. These men lived in the town of Liberty. For a long time they had been at outs, and in constant quarrels regarding fences and easements belonging to real estate. On,the 9th of June, 1873, Starr attempted to drive across a certain piece of land in the town of Jefferson. Barrett came from his house with a gun in hand and forbade his crossing. After a few words and threats Starr seized the gun he had brought with him and shot Barrett, killing him. Starr was arrested and bound over to the circuit court. The case was tried at the fall term in 1873, and was ably conducted by C. M. Butts, district attorney for the State, and Car¬ son Graham and O. B. Thomas for the defense. Starr admitted the shooting, but plead self de¬ fense, and upon this ground was acquitted by the jury.
The spring term of court in 1875 was made memorable by the trial of the notorious case of State vs. J. P. Larry the defendant being charged with shooting John Downie. Larry and Downie were half brothers living near each other in the town of Liberty. On the 9th of November, 1874, while plowing in his field, Downie was shot by some unknown person and for a long time laid at the point of death. Isaiah Guist, a neighbor with whom Downie was not on very friendly terms, was arrested o)i suspicion of being the perpetrator of the foul and cowardly deed, but he clearly proved his innocence and was immediately discharged. As time went by the suspicion that Larry had done the shooting gained ground, and he was finally arrested. He plead not guilty and based his defense upon proving an alibi. The trial was a long and interesting one, and at one time a crowd from the neighborhood of the